Str8HipHip

SHH: So the album’s out the ring tone game is crazy. You got the “Duffle Bag Boy” and the remix all over the streets right now. How does it feel?

Dollar Boy: I mean it feels real good now. We blessed to be here. Everybody knows we been on the grind for a long time now. It’s just a blessed position to be in and we just want to make the best of it.

SHH: So let’s get to know Playaz Circle a little better. I heard that “PLAYAZ” is actually an acronym. What does it stand for?

Tity Boy: It’s an acronym that originally stands for Preparing Legal Assets for Years from A-Z.  From beginning to end it was something that five big homies came up with back in the late 90’s. Basically just handling the whole mindset of the concept of being a hustler and trying to clean up your money and do something positive. Whether it be something in the community or something at the recreational park or something like that. We just always had the mindset of “preparing our legal assets.”  And out A.K.A. has always been the “Duffle Bag Boys,” which has always been like our independent side of our hustle side.  So together, we here…

SHH: So how did the group form?

Dollar Boy: Well... basically we all grew up together in the same area of Southside College Park... We all went to the same schools and basically used to hustle in the streets together and we just decided to take it to the next level and get into the rap game. .

SHH: This is a crazy question, but did you ever during or before the song came out just stuff a duffle bag full of money and just go wild out at the mall?

Dollar Boy: Go to the mall?

Tity Boy: Naah… We don’t’ go to the mall (Laughs).

SHH: I know now you don’t go to the mall, but prior?

Tity Boy: That’s what I’m saying. A lot of the stuff we doing now we practiced before we got on; we been frequented the Louis (Vuitton) store, the Gucci store and Walter's downtown... When you go to the mall you end up wearing the same thing as somebody else. So you catch us there rarely. You might catch us over at Macy’s looking at the cologne or something, but yeah we done did our thing. We done pop our player tags. You can ask the whole A (Atlanta) about us.

Dollar Boy: Yeah… We usually take the $1’s to the malls and the stores and stuff and put it in a bag and you know… Go spend all the $1’s in the mall.  I’ve spent like $700-$800 in ones at the mall before.

SHH: Word… So as I understand it this deal with DTP was not your first deal. Where were you before DTP and how is the situation at DTP different than your previous deal?

Tity Boy: We was on DTP before. We was just signed to directly to Universal. The deal isn’t too different; it just didn’t work out unit we was put on DTP.  We had the rhymes, we had the songs… It was like one machine ran on another machine to do something. So when me and Do(llar) heard all that, we was like, “we got to do our thing.” We ain’t no Universal… We ain’t no DTP. Let’s play our own card and make our own thing happen and that’s what basically happened. When that happened, DTP had already had the label deal at Def Jam and we just went under the same umbrella.

SHH: So how did you get signed/discovered by DTP then?

Dollar Boy: Shout out to Luda(cris). We all grew up in the same area, like College Park/River Hill Road. He was doing his thing on the radio around the time we first started out and he used to try and look out for us and get us like deals and stuff.  Then a situation came about when I had to do some time and when I went away to do my time. Tity Boy signed with DTP and they said when I came home they would have a family for me.  So shout out to the whole DTP family (Strength In Numbers).

SHH: How did you guys get set up with Lil Wayne to do “Duffle Bag Boys?”

Tity Boy: Lil Wayne the homie so you know…. Since we had the Universal deal; we been rocking with the whole Cash Money thing for a long time now, so it’s almost like family, you know? And we respect throughout the whole rap community with our peers. So Wayne had a chance to hear our mix CDs and he had a chance to hear the album before it was actually done and put out. So he kind of had some insight  to what we had to bring to the table. So we done over eight-nine songs together… So when this came about we was like, “just do the hook… don’t do no verse.” He did the hook and it was so strong, you know we go by “The Duffle Bag Boys” and we did the verses and help up our end of the bargain and now we right here doing this interview.

SHH: Did you write the hook or did he write the hook?

Tity Boy: Nah. He wrote the hook.

SHH: Aight that’s what it is. Did you expect “Duffle Bag Boys” to take off like it did?

Dollar Boy: Yes and no… We wanted to always make a big impact, but we just never knew how. I mean Duffle Bag Boys is a movement… It’s a lifestyle, so a lot of the up and coming cats and a lot of the cats that’s coming up in the streets  can really relate to it. So once that starts connecting with all the people around, you know? It just started being a movement and a way of lifestyle, so we want to say yes and no to that question.

SHH: Who else mad the album including collaborations and production credits?

Tity Boy:  Ludacris of course… We got Midnight Black on there… We got Drum Squad on there… We got Street Runners on there. I mean the album is one of the most creative street albums to come out right now. It kind of reminds me of days of the old “Reasonable Doubt,” where it can fill in that grey area from the hustle to doing the rap game. We express that through our music . We some stand up cats... I mean we go the features on there, but for the most part, it’s me and Dollar trying to tell our part of the story.

SHH: So what are your favorite songs on the album?

Dollar Boy: I got a lot of things… I love the whole album, but one of my favorites is “We Workin’” which basically describes us to a T. I mean it just describes us to a T. What we about, what we do and everything in that aspect.

Tity Boy: I think one of my favorites might be “Paper Chasers.” Like he said,” it describes what we do.” The whole album is a good general description of what we do. We’re basically motivated a lot by money and basically go out there and get money and support the family and everything.

Dollar Boy: “Supply & Demand” in stores right now!

SHH: What’s the next single off “Supply & Demand?”

Tity Boy: “Paper Chase” produced by Mr. Porter from D-12. It features Phonte on the hook from Little Brother and it’s another one of those…. It’s another one!

SHH: I was listening to that joint today. It’s crazy. How did you come up with that? D-12? Phonte? How did you do that?

Dollar Boy: We was at the studio and it was already done (Laughs).

SHH: Are you on tour right now?

Dollar Boy: Yeah we on tour right now. We in Miami at DJ Khalid’s birthday party...

SHH:  What was the craziest thing that’s happened to you guys on tour?

Tity Boy: The stage collapsed.

SHH: Like what happened?

Tity Boy: I just told you fam (Laughs). We was rapping… It “Duffle Bag Boys…” I really don’t know what the fuck song was on really and the whole stage collapsed and Dollar fell through that thing (Laughs).

SHH: You good Dollar?

Dollar Boy: Yeah… I got a lawsuit coming. I’m fittin’ to sue the whole state (Laughs).

SHH: Which state is that?

Dollar Boy: We don’t want to say no names.  Might affect the lawsuit…

Tity Boy: “Might affect the lawsuit.” (Laughs) Yeah lawsuit baby!

SHH: So what’s the highlight of your career so far?

Dollar Boy: Just to see our dreams come true. Like all of them ain’t come true, now at this moment, but just to see we got a start that was better than we had before. I mean it’s such a blessing to know that we can go to level two and level three and level four… When before in the past we had to get through level one and now I’m like we through level one now.

Tity Boy: I guess my highlight would be performing at the BET Awards in Atlanta. Just being an Atlanta native and just the whole support that we got from everybody that night is one of the highlights of my whole career straight up.

SHH: I told some females I was interviewing you guys today and they told me to ask both of you if ya’ll are single right now?

Playaz Circle: (Laughs)

Tity Boy: We single, but I’m good with money man… I’m in a relationship with that money man…

SHH: How do you feel about the current state of Hip Hop?

Dollar Boy: I feel Hip Hop is making a lot of money now.  I feel the money could be better in certain aspects, but overall we done came a long way. I don’t think Hip Hop is in the state it was five or six years ago. I think the music was better back then, but you know like… Everything has to change, so maybe we gonna change that.

Tity Boy: That’s the thing about  Playaz Circle (Duffle Bag Boys)… Every time we put something out it’s going to be quality music. You can expect good music. I feel like everybody else about the state of Hip Hop. If you understand what me and Dollar did from being Southern artist and coming from what people think of us probably doing a “dance,” but instead we lay it down lyrically. We tryng to make people pick up they pen and pad again and think about what they saying next. I feel like everybody else with trying to restore Hip Hop.  That’s what me and Dollar do… Every time you hear us it’s going to be quality music.

SHH: With that said, how do you feel you guy stand out as far as the rest of the DTP roster, with so many artists being over there?

Dollar Boy: I mean basically we from the streets. We fittin’ to represent College Park… We represent the Southside of Atlanta. That’s the only reason we here. Nobody else don’t do that...

SHH: I feel that… So what’s the future for Playaz Circle? Like other business? Labels…Clothing lines… Movies?

Tity Boy: Yeah… All the cliché shit they say rappers do, but we got other things in line and don’t really want to put it out there yet. Me and Dollar talk every night about doing something creative, but staying in our lane. So just don’t be surprised if you see us doing something you didn’t think of or maybe you thought of, but just didn’t execute. Yeah, there’s a lot of stuff going on. That whole clothing line, but we got to stay ten steps ahead of it so…

Dollar Boy: Of course we got the clothing line coming out. Be on the lookout for Duffle Bag Clothing, coming to an urban store near your real soon. We trying to put out these Playaz Circle duffle bags, be on the lookout for that real soon. Me and Tity stay on the mixtapes scene… I mean we put out a mixtape at least every month. Other than that… Duffle Bag Boys… We got artists on the way. Shout out to all my artists, shout out to all my Duffle Bag Boys across the United States. Man we here and we hear to stay… Man we working…

SHH: What other artists are you feeling that are out right now?

Dollar Boy: Me myself… I like all the Duffle Bag artists. Like I’m a big fan of Tity Boy. Like every time he do something, I want to hear it. That’s what motivates me… You know? You got to find motivation within your crew… Within your family or you gonna start doing that bullshit like them other niggas doing that bullshit on the radio right now.

SHH: So who are some of your influences within music and in general?

Tity Boy: Anyone in the industry who has maintained and still doing well and still producing and getting money till this day man… That’s what I look up to. Like your Puffys, your Ice Cubes, your Dr. Dres…. Anybody who’s had longevity in the game because that’s what we looking for.

www.myspace.com/playazcircle